Jet WindowWindow seat by route · LAX to SYD
Los Angeles to Sydney: which side of the plane?
Sun side turns with season and hour.
The sun is on the left on 3 and the right on 5 of the 8 daylight departures we modeled, so the season and the hour decide it. Find yours in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Los Angeles. About 15 h 45 min in the air over 6,512 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Left · sun on this side | Right · sun on this side |
| Noon | Right · sunset about 10 hours in | Right · sunset about 11 hours in |
| 5 p.m. | Right · sunset 10 minutes in | Right · sunset about 4.5 hours in |
| 10 p.m. | Left · sunrise about 11 hours in | Left · sunrise about 15.5 hours in |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Right on the Pacific shore at the edge of the LA basin. On the shore of Botany Bay, open to the sea.
Leaving Los Angeles
Straight out over the Pacific and Santa Monica Bay; Catalina Island rides offshore on a clear day.
Arriving in Sydney
Botany Bay and the ocean, and just to the north the blue of Sydney Harbour with the Harbour Bridge and the sails of the Opera House.
How this was worked out
The same engine as the app.
These answers come from the model Jet Window uses on your phone: the sun's position from the cabin's own horizon at cruise, sampled along the great-circle path, with the landmark and airport notes the app shows. This page has to assume a departure time and a flight time, and a real flight bends with winds, airways and the runway in use. Cloud is not modeled.
In the app, Jet Window works it out for your actual flight, at its real departure time, and tells you when to look.
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